Little Moments: Save The Date
by ReederJoe
Summary: You are cordially invited to witness the union between Daniel James Howell and Phillip Michael Lester. But first, they have to figure out who's taking whose name and, more importantly, which cake they want. Invitations, venues, and wedding vows- oh my! Everyone is excitedly waiting for this moment to come to fruition, but Dan's just concerned about not tripping down the aisle.
1. Prologue

**A/N: WELCOME BACK TO THE FEELS TRAIN. I'M PRETTY EXCITED TO BE CONTINUING THIS UNIVERSE.**

 **Anyway, I hope you like it & leave a review!**

 **-Justin**

 **Prologue: Dan**

 **1-1-17**

"Dan, hold still," Phil giggled, pressing a palm to my bare hip. His other hand scrubbed in my hair, attempting to remove the last of the glitter. We'd had a little too much fun at Louise and Zoe's New Year's party last night, and we were both still covered in the stuff. This was the second shower, and I was starting to think we'd just have to live with it forever.

"It's not me," I protested, keeping a tight grip on the safety bar we'd installed shortly after my release from the hospital last year, per doctor's orders. "It's gravity." The bar stretching across the backside of the shower stall was one of the things that allowed me to keep my independence. Long story short, I'd broken my ankle a year and a half ago, and then some kind of infection had gotten too bad and they'd had to amputate my right leg directly below the knee. And of course, the bar was useful for other things, too. It wasn't like I'd _needed_ Phil's help with cleaning.

"Almost done," he promised, sliding his hand down to my cheek, where his thumb swiped at a spot under my eye and came away with a single speck of glitter. "You should've known better than to pop those party bombs at yourself." He gave a cheeky grin and leaned in quickly to kiss me before I could defend myself.

"In my defense," I said anyway once he'd pulled away, "I didn't realize they were aiming the wrong way until I'd already pulled the stopper." That had been a surprise- pulling the string on the party popper and getting a face-full of glitter and confetti. Phil laughed his ass off for about ten minutes straight, and Louise ended up coming to my rescue to help brush off the worst of it. "And it's not like you were much help," I added, slapping a hand down on his shoulder.

"Alright, I think that's got it," he mused, apparently deciding to ignore my statement. He kept one hand on my hip and reached back with the other to shut off the water before stepping out and grabbing a fluffy towel. He shuffled over until he stood directly in front of me and then wrapped an arm around my waist as I lifted my leg so he could pull me out. Living with someone you trusted to see you naked really helped when you only had one foot to stand on- literally. I could've managed on my own, but it was a lot more fun with him involved. He draped the towel over my shoulders and started rubbing at my backside.

"I still have both hands, you know," I informed him as he pressed himself to my chest to reach lower, effectively ruining any progress he might have made. "You're making it worse, oh god." I shoved him away- playfully, of course- and took the towel in my own hands. He just snickered and stood to the side, grabbing a fresh one and drying himself off. He got himself dressed in about thirty seconds and then had his arms around me again as I struggled with my own clothes, this time in an effort to actually help.

"I like this colour on you," he commented as he ran his fingers over the fabric of the dark plaid button-up. It was actually one of his before he outgrew it. "Matches your eyes." He smiled proudly and backed out of the bathroom before marching up the stairs.

"Blue and brown are two different colours," I called after him with a laugh. Secretly, I was glad he was past his over-protective phase- which had lasted up until about a month ago. As much as I loved him, having him right on my neck every moment of every day made me feel very self-conscious and inferior. At least now he gave me more space in some places. I knew he was probably waiting at the landing, but I liked that, and he knew it. I'd always need someone close to me- physically- in life, thanks to the lack of limbs but, even if we were still platonic, I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone else.

 **A/N: Was that fluffy enough?**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Long time no talk! Are you ready for the next installment? I'm excited for this, so I hope you enjoy it!**

 **As always, reviews are cherished. Thanks for reading!**

 **-Justin**

 **Chapter One: Phil**

 **30-1-17**

"Can you believe it? Someone actually made a wedding video set to Toxic." Dan had his laptop on his stomach, slowly sliding further and further down the bed and showing a very prominent double-chin, which was pretty adorable. He moved one finger lazily around the trackpad, looking up to see my reaction to the video he'd just played.

"Are you surprised?" I asked with a laugh, sliding an arm around his shoulders as I leaned in closer. He moved his head to rest against my chest and continued scrolling. Mornings like this had become my favourite- just the two of us, almost complete silence since the builders had finally finished whatever they were working on, and a feeling of absolute security. Nothing felt better than the warmth of Dan's skin against mine, still making butterflies flutter inside me after a year and a half, or almost eight years if you really wanted to be technical about it. "The only thing I don't get is how they made it plausible."

"You were a mob boss," Dan explained with a giggle, pointing a finger at the screen. "I think I was on the 'enemy's' side"- he put air quotes around the word- "and you were supposed to kill me, but instead"-

"You've only seen it once, and already you've analyzed this thing?" I asked, grinning even though he couldn't see from this angle. I lowered my arm a bit so I could reach his slightly pudgy stomach and let my hand slip under the fabric of his shirt, rubbing a circle into the skin there. He flinched when my fingertips grazed over his abdomen.

"Jesus, your hand is freezing," he complained, reaching out to shut the computer down. He closed the laptop and set it off to the side before reaching down to take my hand in his own and twining our fingers together. "I may have already seen it," he added sheepishly, snuggling in closer to my side. "Four times."

"And you wonder why people keep photoshopping you in wedding dresses," I stated, eliciting a soft smack from his palm. "You think they know?"

"I think tumblr would've broken down if they knew," Dan said, patting my arm. "In fact, all social media would be in flaming ruins if the world knew that _no homo Howell_ was engaged to his male best friend."

"I can't wait to see their reaction when the vlog goes up," I mused, already having planned out several possibilities. We'd agreed a while back to make the fans wait until the reception before posting anything. It was still a while to wait, but we'd be outing ourselves as a married couple through a 'Day in the Life" video focusing on the wedding and reception afterwards. And then we'd run off to a secluded island for our honeymoon, far enough away that they'd never be able to find us. "August sixteenth is a long way away, though, still."

"I still can't believe you're enforcing that," Dan sighed, but I knew he was just as excited as I was. Even as I thought of it, I could see him holding back a smile. "It's such a cliché."

"It's cheesy and romantic and everything a wedding should be," I argued, squeezing his shoulders. "And it'll be a day that can be dedicated just to that, and not surrounded by the phandom in some way."

He was silent for a moment, probably coming up with some kind of smartass comment, but after a few seconds, he just said, "This is true," with a nod. "I guess you're special, because I wouldn't do this for anyone else." He let out a _yelp_ when I suddenly tugged him over to lie on top of me, and then he moved one of his hands to my chest for support as he shifted until he was straddling me. His fingers slid up to cup my cheek as he leaned down to press his lips to my ear, whispering, "By the way, happy birthday." He left a trail of kisses, starting with the lobe of my ear and across my neck, once on the tip of my nose, causing him to let out a giggle as I wrinkled my nose up, and finally he came to rest at the corner of my mouth, pressing his lips to mine and adding the words, "Old man," before parting his lips slightly and placing his other hand on my neck, expertly evading my own palm aimed at his arm.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **2-2-17**

"I honestly don't think you're worth it," Dan said as he thumbed through one of the magazines Louise had brought over. She and Zoe had taken over the design and decorating part of the wedding, much to mine and Dan's delight. Neither of us knew anything of colour-coordination or which napkins matched what silverware, and if it had been up to us we'd have probably just eloped. "Look at this shit! Four hours to find the perfect tuxedo? There's only about four choices for guys- did they spend an hour on each one?"

"That's nothing," I said, holding out the catalogue I'd found. "This guy spent months looking for his." Dan looked over with wide eyes and let out a lout sigh before snapping the book shut and sliding it across the coffee table. "Imagine if we were stereotypical. We'd never get through it!"

Dan pulled the magazine from my hands and tossed it behind him before crawling into my lap and wrapping his arms around my neck. "Tell me again why we're allowing this monstrosity?" He'd removed his prosthetic for the night, so he had to sit a certain way in order to prevent one of us from getting smacked by his knee. I wound my own arms around his waist and held him tight against me. He leaned into the embrace and shuddered lightly, but didn't say anything else. I knew how stressful it had to be for him- after everything he'd been through in the past two years, I'd have expected a total meltdown (multiple meltdowns, to be honest, but he was a lot tougher than I'd ever known) but he seemed content to simply protest against the elaborate decisions Zoe and Louise kept making on our behalf. I smiled widely when I remembered the one thing we were both excited about.

"Cake testing," I reminded him, and he tilted his head a bit, just enough to look into my eyes. I grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Remember the pictures? Zoe said we could have an entire party dedicated to it."

"That's one cliché I can get behind." He nuzzled his head into my neck, letting his fringe brush against my ear, tickling my skin. I rested a hand on his back, patting gently, and I could feel him starting to sag against me as he fell asleep. Louise would be here soon with more design ideas, but for now I was more than content to hold him close and listen to his quiet breathing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **4-2-17**

"Dan's out," I said to the chat, answering at least half the questions flowing through. "He'll be back later." It wasn't even a lie- Chris had shown up an hour ago with a long list of things he needed to do in preparation, and practically tossed Dan over his shoulder as he drug him out the door.

 _ **Where's he going?**_

 _ **Already with the secret meetings?**_

 _ **When will he be back**_

"I don't know," I lied, eyeing the camera lens with a smirk. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see." I was actually surprised, because the live show was almost over, and this was the first time I'd seen them mention Dan. Usually I only got about ten minutes in before they started demanding his presence. Of course, things had died down considerably since that day over a year ago, when Dan had managed to mentally scar the entirety of tumblr with nothing but powder and water. Now that it was all out in the open, there was no snooping necessary and people were finding other things to do with their time (read: waiting impatiently for one of us to slip up and make out on camera). I was on air for another five minutes, saying goodbye to everyone I could catch in the messages, and then the screen went black before showing the loading that always appeared right before someone else was about to go live.

I shut the laptop down and leaned back into the cushions on the sofa. It was almost Valentine's Day, and I'd been spending a lot of time thinking about it. It wouldn't be our first one _together_ , but we hadn't done anything special last year because of all the emotional trauma going on. Dan was in a pretty fragile state, having nightmares at least once a week- though thankfully only a handful of them were about me leaving for some reason- and generally hating a lot of things because there were so many things he couldn't do anymore. Luckily, between the therapist and me, we were able to convince him that he was wrong about that, that he _could_ still do all that stuff. Our fans had been equally supportive, sending constant messages of positivity and even mailing things to us. Our office was still full of unopened boxes, simply because we didn't have time to unwrap them all at once. My current system was taking one from the stockpile whenever Dan started feeling crisis-ey, and that was happening less and less often these days.

I jumped up when the doorbell rang. I wondered who it was as I made my way toward the door, because Dan and Chris would've just come on in. I pulled the knob and was nearly assaulted by Louise and Zoe, who burst into the flat with arms full of papers and huge smiles.

"Get Dan," Louise said at the same time that Zoe sang, "We've got stationery!"

"He's out with Chris," I told them with a laugh, stepping to the side so they could reach the stairs. I reached out to take half the pile from Zoe's arms because it looked like everything was about to fall. "First fitting of the season."

"How come you're not with them?"

"It's supposed to be a secret, remember?" I followed them up the stairs- they knew what they were doing with this stuff better than I did- and dropped the envelopes down on the dining table once we reached the lounge. "If anyone caught us in the shop together, they'd know right away."

"Oh, right," Zoe said as she sunk down in the orange chair and began sorting through the stacks of paper. "Louise and I took it upon ourselves to handle this part of the wedding. God knows you and Dan haven't a clue." She smiled sweetly and dodged my arm when I went to smack her shoulder lightly. She was right, anyway; we had no idea, nor did we particularly care what kind of shape was printed on the invitations, but I'd never say that to them. They both lived for this kind of thing.

"We've narrowed it down quite a bit," Louise explained, sitting down across from Zoe. I looked between them for a moment and then down at the massive pile of paper before taking a seat next to Zoe. "There are four choices here." She began placing sheets in separate stacks.

"Alright."

"This one has abstracts," Louise continued, gesturing to one set with stripes and swirly patterns. "Daisies," she said, touching another set with a whole lot of flowers drawn on. "'Romantic'." She stuck one hand up to make air quotes before sliding a small stack of envelopes over. They were full of hearts and swirls and the word _love_ written in every available space. That was too much, even for me.

"And here's a generic," Zoe cut in, pushing her stack over. It was plain white with a few silver swirls and looked pretty boring. "I doubt you'll pick this one, but I figured we should have it in the choices just in case." After a moment, she added, "I don't think you'll pick the hearts one, either, but it was too cute to throw out." She gave a sheepish smile and sat back in her chair. Louise watched me carefully, and I wondered which one was her favourite.

"You're making me choose?" I asked incredulously, looking down at each set of papers. I liked the abstract and the ones with flowers, but I'd assumed they were going to take control over every aspect of this. I hadn't expected to be given a choice in the matter. I laughed, causing them both to give me strange looks.

"We didn't want you to think we were too controlling," Louise explained, and then both of them giggled, covering the mouths with their hands. "We can wait until Dan gets back and see what he thinks." I usually had at least a small inkling of an idea how he'd feel about something, but this was one thing I had no clue about. I guess we would all be surprised this time.

 **A/N: Hey hi buddy pal friend. Sorry for the hiatus, but writer's block + working way too many shifts= no time. I'm gonna try to have a schedule for posting "(once a week for this story) so be on the lookout! It's gonna be a long and bumpy ride.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Lazy morning fluff, Finding a caterer and Phil stopping an existential crisis before it can happen**

 **Wedding invitations!**

 **Hey guys! Sorry I've been MIA for months, but things have been pure chaos. Hopefully I can get back to some kind of schedule now**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

 **-Justin**

 **28-2-17**

It was a major conflict. On the one hand, I had to go through the motions of preparing my leg- well, stump, but I couldn't say the word without cringing- for the prosthetic. Cleaning the area, rolling on the silicon sleeve, and making sure the artificial joints clicked properly into place so that I didn't fall over once I stood up. I hardly ever needed the crutch these days, but it still stood in the corner by the window. Sometimes I found myself glaring at it for no particular reason.

On the other hand, I woke up to the sight and feeling of Phil nestled beside me. Sometimes he'd be in front of me- those rare nights when I'd wanted to be the big spoon- but most mornings he was hugging me from behind, arms wrapped snugly around my waist and nose pressed into my back. I'd learned pretty quickly that he was basically a snuggle monster, and it was honestly one of my favourite things about him.

This morning was no different.

I could feel his fingers on my stomach, tracing light patterns over the skin below my navel, barely brushing the waistband of my pyjama pants every few seconds. I knew he was awake and he knew I was awake, but neither of us acknowledged it just yet. Instead, he shuffled closer to press the side of his face between my shoulder blades. When I felt his cheek on my bare skin, I twisted away slightly to roll over and face him, grinning at the sight of his sleepy smile and heavy eyelids. "Hey," he whispered, leaning in to kiss the corner of my lips softly.

"Hey," I repeated, and he let out a soft giggle as he leaned in once more to kiss me properly. It was moments like these that made me wonder- sometimes out loud- how we'd gotten through so many years without that touch. The moment didn't last long, though, because there were a lot of things to do today, and we'd have to get up soon if we wanted to be productive. I sighed loudly as I shuffled away from him and toward the edge of the bed, but he just wrapped his arms more snugly around my waist.

"I think we should stay right here," Phil decided, "all day." I looked up at him for a moment, taking in the way his blue eyes sparkled even though they were half-closed, and I was almost tempted to give in and let him have his way

"As nice as that sounds," I told him instead, pulling free from his grasp and sitting up in the bed, "We only have about ten minutes until Louise gets here." I laughed at the noise he made- neither of us were fans of the torturous process that was wedding planning- and instinctively leaned back into his touch when he sat up and pressed a palm to my back. I scooted to the edge of the bed and leaned forward to attach my prosthesis. The mechanism clicked into place right away, and I decided today would be a good day.

It usually took a few steps before my body remembered how to walk with half a fake leg, but every day was easier than the last. Once we were dressed, Phil went on to the kitchen and I followed after him slowly.

2-3-17

"She'll be catering," Louise said, gesturing to the screen. The video was one of Rosanna Pansino's _Nerdy Nummies_ series. "She's quite good."

"Nice," Phil said approvingly. The video played a few seconds longer and then Louise closed the laptop and turned to face us at the dining table.

"What do you think?" she asked as she clasped her hands together. She seemed excited by the prospect of it all, and I got the feeling she was probably biased in the matter. "I've already talked with her and she's happy to do it. All we need is your approval."

I glanced toward Phil and saw that he was smiling widely and nodding his head. He'd always been happy-go-lucky about damn near everything in his life. My first instinct was to play Devil's Advocate and somehow find a reason Rosanna couldn't possibly do the job. Phil's eyes met mine as I parted my lips to ask the first question, but before I could get a word out there was a pressure on my thigh and I looked down to see Phil's hand gripping my leg.

"It'll work," he assured me softly, leaning over to press a kiss to my cheek, right above my dimple. "You've seen how much work she puts into her videos and recipes." He let his forehead rest against mine for a moment as he reached for my hands and said again, "It'll work."

There was silence for a full minute before I looked back to Louise and said, "I guess we've found our caterer," with what I hoped looked like a genuine smile on my face. Phil gave my fingers a squeeze and I leaned back in the chair, sighing quietly.

"Excellent!" Louise squealed, clapping her hands together. "I'll give her the good news tomorrow. She'll be so excited!"

"Really?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yes, of course, silly," Louise told me, patting my arm. "She's a huge fan of you two."

"Everyone loves us, remember, Dan?" Phil offered, nudging my side with an elbow. "This is going to be the most anticipated wedding ever, and nobody even knows about it yet."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I said with a laugh, leaning into his side. His arm came around my shoulders and he tugged his fingers through my hair over and over. It was one sure-fire way to make me relax and he knew that.

"Of course," he agreed. "I'm always right."

7-3-17

Louise had given us four choices for the wedding invitations, but in the end we'd chosen something else entirely. We'd come pretty close to choosing the abstract design with the colourful swirls, but after insisting on a web search I'd come across something I couldn't resist using. It wasn't really like anything else in our style, but it seemed perfect for the situation.

"They're gorgeous," Zoe gushed, lifting one of the heavy slips of paper from the dining table. "I'm slightly miffed you didn't like our choices, but I'll get over it because this is just too pretty not to use."

"It's not that we didn't like them," I started for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, "This one just popped into my view and it was like a sign or something."

"I know, I know," Zoe said, waving her free hand in my direction. "I don't blame you."

"They really are beautiful," Louise agreed as she walked through the door into the lounge. Phil trailed behind her, wearing a very pained expression and glaring toward the garment bag draped over Louise's shoulder. She'd dragged him out to the tailor shop for another fitting- I still wasn't sure why so many of them were necessary but both girls insisted on one every week now- and Phil was not a fan. He walked over to where I sat on the sofa and dropped down beside me, automatically taking my hand in his and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"Enjoy your monkey suit?" I teased, dodging the fingers that snapped forward to pinch my wrist. With a grin, I added, "You'll look great, don't worry."

"Your turn tomorrow," Louise informed me, glancing up from her place at the table. She and Zoe were now pointing out the minor details of our wedding invitations, most notably the wispy feathers spread out in random directions. I wasn't entirely sure why I'd been so drawn to the feather design, but it felt perfect. "I'm surprised you two haven't blabbed to each other yet."

"Please, Lou," Phil said, "we promised to keep it a secret. We're both technically brides here."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Phil, I don't think that's quite right." He gave my palm a squeeze in response before letting out a chuckle of his own. "It's still a nice gesture, though." I leaned over a bit to rest my head on his shoulder and noticed Zoe watching with a big smile and wide eyes. She was a fangirl above all else.

"We'll send these out tomorrow morning," Louise told us, and I raised up to see her moving the papers into different stacks. Every few seconds she'd lift one up and press something into the corner- stamps, I assumed- and place it down on the other end of the table. "Have you thought any about the processional?"

"Come on, Louise," I said with a roll of my eyes, "you already know."

She made a face of mock hurt and tossed her hair from one side to the other. "It's nice to be asked, though."

I started to say something, but Phil stopped me with a pat on my knee as he said, "Louise, won't you please be our maid of honour?"

She was silent for a moment, pretending to think it over while all three of us tried to keep a straight face, and then she finally opened her mouth to say, "Well, if you insist." Her lips curled up into a grin as she poked her tongue out to lick an envelope for the next invitation. Phil and I exchanged an amused expression, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

 **A/N: After the posting of Chapter Three, I'll be releasing the wedding invitation to my tumblr (same name) so look out for that!**


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